Stop Wasting Money on Posters …Shocked UK Politician tells NPP

Political campaign posters remain one of the most effective and powerful tools for holding political leaders accountable.

Nonetheless, for the politician, a poster would not only promote his message but it would cajole people who may be undecided to vote and most importantly leave in the minds of prospective voters, the over ‘photoshoped’ face of a man in dire need of power.

In as much as Ghanaian politicians may never be powerful enough to do without campaign posters, politicians in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) received an unpleasant rebuke from a ‘first world’ politician for their gratuitous use of campaign posters.

The Conservative Party representative from the United Kingdom (UK), Dr John Hayward did not mince words over the supposed profligacy and reckless wastage of both private and public purse on the excessive printing of such posters.

Obviously dazed by the number of ‘blue-red-white’ posters he saw at the venue of the NPP’s 2018 Delegates Conference, the UK politician questioned if the printing of many campaign posters was a prudent way of using resources available to those vying for the position.

“…is this the best use of our resources? We the Conservative Party learnt this in a bitter way so we have changed our way. Focus your time, efforts and resources on reaching out to voters in Ghana”, Dr Hayward stated in his solidarity message to the NPP at Koforidua, last Saturday.

He forewarns that the NPP might pay dearly in the 2020 elections if it does not change its ways.

He therefore urged the governing party to listen to the concerns of the citizenry and ensure that their concerns are represented in development.

Though some faction of the public―especially those on the other political divide, have welcomed this public bashing, others have argued that the UK politician may not understand how politics work in Africa.

Nene, who was present at the conference said though Dr Hayward’s speech may not have been welcomed by many, it had some truth in it.

According to him, politicians in Ghana have moved from contesting positions with convincing ideas to waging a flag or poster ‘war’, which to him should not be the case.

“In Ghana today, the bigger your banner, the bigger your message,” Nene added.

George, who was not in support of the UK politician said, posters work magic for the Ghanaian politician adding that, “some people would simply want to vote for an individual simply because of his looks and not necessarily because of the message.”

Another outcome that may have thrown the UK politician off balance would have been Freddie Blay and Stephen Ntim’s campaign ‘money’ bundles.

Social media had over the weekend been awash with images of the bundles of GH¢10 and GH¢50 notes wrapped in a “Freddie Blay/ Stephen Ntim for NPP National Chairman” paper wrapper.

“It is obvious that politics in Ghana is simply unpredictable; people will do anything for power,” Mamle tells the Publisher.

By: Grace Ablewor Sogbey/ [email protected]